In honor of my having made my appointment to have my lawn aerated core cultivated, I thought I’d graze a little more on the subject of turf with Tony Koski, Ph.D., CSU’s turfgrass guru, or, as Boulder County Master Gardener Coordinator Carol O’Meara calls him, the rock star of lawn science, mentioned in my last post. He has me so hooked on the idea that my lawn can look good, I was SHOPPING for it on line. Yes, what was once frustrating is now fascinating because I have discovered I can shop for it. Commenter Kitt pointed out that she LOVES her electric mower — no gas, no fumes, low maint — and now I’ve discovered they’re making the little suckers CUTE. I kid you not, CUTE. Check out neutonmowers.com if you don’t believe me — that new model has to be the Volkswagen Beetle of mowers. Fifty bucks says next year, somebody makes an electric mower in colors to match your iPod.

But back to Tony Koski talking about growing the stuff.

Q: You seem to be a “don’t blame the bluegrass” kind of guy.

A: It’s just easy to pick on because it’s so prevalent. Kentucky bluegrass is the most widely used grass out there, so if people have problems, most of them are going to be with bluegrass. Actually a greater percentage of the calls I get are people who are having problems with buffalo grass. Kentucky bluegrass isn’t native, and there’s a bias against non-native species. I like to concentrate not so much on the species, but the fact that you’ve got this plant, and what’s the best way to care for it? Minor adjustments in irrigation, in fertilization, can make a big difference. And people get lazy with irrigation; they tend to water more than is needed. But people found out that their bluegrass stuck around under the much more stringent watering restrictions we had during the drought.
A lot of it is learning how much you can cut back. Kentucky bluegrass doesn’t have to be a high-maintenance lawn unless you want it to look like a golf course.
During the drought, everybody wanted to convert their lawns right then – and that’s the worst time to do it. Buffalo grass is drought-tolerant, but not in its first year or two. So we had to rein people in.

Q: Talk about the new drought-tolerant bluegrasses and the Texas hybrid bluegrasses. What’s the difference in the home lawn? Is one better than the other?

A: The new Kentucky bluegrasses have much deeper roots. You can get them in sod. Our sod growers here are very advanced and up to date; they want something that’s going to perform well for people.
The Texas hybrids are different; they’re a part native that is very heat tolerant and deeper rooted. Part of its genetics is from the prairies of Texas, and those deep roots are how it survives. It’s both heat-tolerant and drought-resistant. It will go dormant, but it’ll survive. Bandera is a recommended variety from Seed Research of Oregon; Arkansas Valley Seed sells it to garden centers here.
(There’s a Colorado dealer locater map at http://www.avseeds.com/DealerLocator/default.aspx?state=co&SearchType=MR)

Q: What’s the first thing a first-time homeowner should do for their lawn this spring?

A: The first thing is core cultivation (the people who do it for you will call it aeration). Do it once and fertilize; just find a fertilizer with good instructions on how to set your spreader. I suggest people get a lawn-care company; check their references and the Better Business Bureau before you contract with one. Also check the Colorado Association of Lawn Care Professionals website at lawncarecolorado.org.; you can click on, say, Lakewood, and they’ll list companies in Lakewood. They also have monthly tips.

If they have an in-ground irrigation system, check its operation; run it through each of its stations once and check it for broken heads, leaks, spray patterns. Generally those things are pretty easy to repair, but if a station’s not running, it could be an electrical problem.
Also check with your city water conservation bureau – some will do an irrigation audit for free. And some have rebates on sprinkler heads or smart controllers. That’s a way to improve your irrigation system and save money at the same time.

Q: Can you suggest some books that will help the first-time lawn owner?

A: I like Scotts Guide to Lawn Care. It’s unbiased and non-commercial and it doesn’t promote Scotts products.

Q: What’s your favorite grass for a public space?

A: Well, most public spaces are going to get at least some traffic, so Kentucky bluegrass.

Q: For a home lawn for a young family?

A: Again, Kentucky bluegrass. For the same use with some shady spots, fine fescues. You can blend them with the bluegrass.

Q: What lawn mistake makes you want to just grab someone and shake them?

A: Sprinkling without thinking – just setting a sprinkler system on autopilot and leaving it that way for ten years. You really have to change your clock according to the season. I’ve got a lot under drip irrigation, and I’m usually out every week checking the soil, and turning it up, down, or off. But most people, that’s not how they want to spend their time. Now there are these new smart controllers that take the thinking out of it (by adjusting to soil moisture or ET – evapotranspiration – rates). They’re a good investment that will pay itself back in water savings in two or three years.

Q: Colorado soils tend to be iron deficient. What’s the best way to fix that?

A: The iron compound that most Colorado soils need is iron EDDHA. So you have to read the fine print on your fertilizer. The ones that tend to have it tend to be the more expensive ones, so that’s a good way to narrow it down. But don’t put that on until the lawn is already greening up – mid-April or May.

Susan Clotfelter has always played in the dirt, but got dragged into gardening as an obsession when she reclaimed her hell corner: a weed-infested patch of clay inhabited by one tough, lonely lilac and a thicket of weeds. Along with training as a Colorado State University Extension Master Gardener volunteer, she dug deeper with beds of herbs and lettuce at her home and rows of vegetables wherever she could borrow land. She writes for The Denver Post and other publications and appears on community radio.

Julie's passion for gardening began in spring of 2000 when she bought a fixer-upper in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood, and realized that the landsape was in desperate need of some TLC. During the drought of 2003, she decided to give up on bluegrass and xeriscape her front yard. She wrote about the journey in the Rocky Mountain News, in a series called Mud, Sweat & Tears: A Xeriscape story. Julie is an avid veggie gardener as well as a seasoned water gardener.